Transparency or Tyranny?

Sometimes rules that are created to address a real problem have unintended consequences. Such is the case with New York’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics, widely known as “JCOPE.” Late in January, JCOPE voted for an advisory opinion to expand the definition of lobbying to include communications between public relations firms and journalists. So, if a communications person contacts an editor or writer in an attempt to persuade them to cover news on a political issue, they might have to disclose the communication as a lobbying endeavor.

On the surface, this may not seem like such a big deal to some people. After all, lobbyists and nonprofit organizations already are required to disclose direct lobbying and grassroots lobbying, urging people to contact their lawmakers about matters of importance to them. After all, the reported goal of this new proposal is transparency. JCOPE’s chair, Daniel Horwitz, said the opinion is a “reasonable regulation of speech.”

But, I see a huge problem with this proposition, and I’m not alone. Several groups concerned about freedom of speech and freedom of the press, including the New York Press Association and editors across the state, agree with me. In fact, New York Law School professor Nadine Strossen told The Observer on Jan. 26, that the rule is an “assault” on the First Amendment:

“This proposed regulation is a double-barreled assault on core First Amendment freedoms. Lobbying constitutes the expressly protected, hard-won right ‘to petition the government.’ And the preeminent historic purpose of the free press guarantee was to bar the government from exercising any licensing power over publications.”

Needless to say, I am against this. Registering with the government to speak our mind? It’s one thing to disclose money or other valuables exchanged with lawmakers that might sway their votes; it’s another thing entirely to call urging the press to report a story and inform the public something that needs to be disclosed to the government. In fact, I find this all somewhat ironic, because the press—the Fourth Estate—has itself been considered the watchdog of government long before JCOPE ever existed.

I am not against JCOPE, per se. Anyone would agree there’s real corruption in our state. But, organizations making a case for their issues to be heard and the media seeing fit to report on these issues are not the problem. Frankly, I’m surprised we have not heard more from the media or the public about this issue. Where is the outrage? Perhaps the timing of the vote, or a disbelief that our rights could be in jeopardy is holding back the outcry. I hope it is not a fear of our government’s response that is silencing dissent. The hush in the wake of JCOPE’s vote reminds me of Martin Niemöller’s famous poem about the cowardice of the German public as the Nazis rose to power. The poem starts out: “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out….” I remind readers that the poem ends: “Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

What if this measure prevents good organizations from working with the press to let them know about important issues to any one of us? Who will speak for us then?

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Speaking of speaking one’s mind…Readers may have heard that Michael Paluba, LUTC, a fixture of PIANY board meetings, passed on Feb. 6. Mike went through many of the chairs on the board and was a perennial secretary serving in that position for 12 years. I will never forget when Mike came to the board a few years ago and said “I am not running for re-election. It’s time for the younger kids to work their way through the various officer chairs.” He was a standup guy.

When I think of Mike, I think of a party: He was always jovial and he had only nice things to say about people. He owned a family-run professional independent agency: Hermitage Insurance Brokerage on Middle Island, N.Y., with his wife, Georgette. Mike’s greatest legacy was his family with eight grandchildren and great grandchildren. I know Mike is up there smiling at all of us in a cloud of smoke, holding a glass of scotch, and he’s saying “Hello Bubula” to everyone there. I wish there were more people in the world like him…this industry needs more Mike Palubas.

End Note: N. Stephen Ruchman, CPIA, is a retired independent agent and founder of Ruchman Associates, Inc. the agency he started in 1961. A past president of the Professional Insurance Agents of New York State, Inc., he is an active supporter of PIANY, and he has sat on or chaired nearly every committee including the Executive Committee and the Long Island Advisory Council and PIANY’s Political Action Committee. He can be reached via email at: nsruchman@gmail.com.